Performance of Various Water Treatment Processes for Removal of Hazardous Levels of Chemicals

Terrorist attacks are considered as hazards for public water supply, although there have been only a few examples within decades. The joint research project STATuS was initiated to be better prepared in case of an emergency, to investigate practical aspects of threats and to develop mitigation measures. Within a sub‐project of STATuS, we studied the behavior of 27 toxic chemical compounds in the common treatment train of waterworks. It comprises filtration on granular activated carbon (GAC), addition of powdered activated carbon (PAC) or disinfection with ozone, chlorine or UV‐radiation. The aim of this study was to provide a set of suited methods to assess the risk of each toxic substance under a certain treatment, to elucidate the efficiency of the treatment steps under conditions that are similar to those found in waterworks and to identify suited treatment techniques to remove toxic substances.